I was really looking forward to last night's episode of American Idol, to see if this year's crew could tackle contemporary songs and demonstrate to the audience where in the pop music landscape they would fall. With two notable exceptions, however, I was quite disappointed -- poor song choices and karaoke-esque performances abounded. There's no doubt we've got a Top 9 brimming with talent, but are they losing steam about halfway through the competition?
Before I get to my elimination predictions, here's my rankings of the Top 9:
1. Kris Allen, A-
2. Adam Lambert, A-
3. Danny Gokey, B+
4. Allison Iraheta, B-
5. Lil Rounds, B-
6. Scott Macintyre, C
7. Matt Giraud, C-
8. Anoop Desai, C-
9. Megan Joy, D
Ok, on to the elimination prediction...
Green Zone - Totally Safe
Kris Allen, who I develop a bigger crush on by the week, once again showed he's taking this thing seriously, reinventing "Ain't No Sunshine" into a self-accompanied showstopper. Sure, this guy doesn't have the best voice in the competition, but 4 solid performances in a row mean he's gonna be in it for the long haul.
Ditto Adam Lambert, who gave a totally joyful performance of "Play that Funky Music" that allowed him to show off the lighter side of his personality and his killer voice. In my mind, if Adam doesn't win the whole thing, America is most definitely not voting for the strongest vocalist.
I'm also going to include Danny Gokey in this group, even though he's been slipping the past few weeks. After last week's "clumsy" showing, his choice to sing a Rascal Flatts song was an inspired one, and he delivered it with gusto. While it wasn't nearly as musically interesting as Kris or Adam, it should be more than enough for him to advance to the Top 8.
Yellow Zone - On Shaky Ground
Mark my words -- Matt Giraud is going to have a nervous breakdown live on TV. The poor guy clearly wants to be a rockstar, but the judges (and, likely, his fans at home) would prefer he stick to the Timberlake-esque tunes. I think he'll be okay this week, though, as his Bottom 2 scare should motivate his fans (even those who didn't love his rendition of The Fray's Adult Contemporary hit) to pick up the phone. Still -- get the straight jacket ready.
Then there's Lil Rounds, who I consider the competition's biggest disappointment thus far. There's no doubt she can sing, but this girl has absolutely no originality. "I Surrender"? Really? I love the song (especially when Kelly Clarkson killed it back in Season 1), but I though Lil was this year's R&B diva. How about showing some spunk, as opposed to singing every note exactly as it was written? Still, I think she'll live to sing another week.
Red Zone -- Danger Danger Danger!
That leaves Scott Macintyre, Anoop Desai, Megan Joy, and my beloved Allison Iraheta in the danger zone. Allison, you say? How could that be? Well, after last week's strong showing I'm afraid her fans may take her safety for granted, and her just so-so performance of No Doubt's "Don't Speak" may not have been enough to remind them she needs their votes.
As for Scott, will a leather jacket and a new (pompadour) 'do be enough to spare him? While I was bored to tears by his performance, there's no doubt this guy knows who he is (an Adult Contemporary artist through and through), and that's more than we can say for...
Anoop Desai. Oh, Anoop, what were you thinking choosing Usher's "Caught Up"? When are you going to get it through your head that you are not an R&B star? Perhaps a trip to the Bottom 2 (or, worst, an elimination) will finally convince him to stick to the ballads and leave the "entertaining" to Mr. Lambert.
Then there's Megan, who I really did adore during the first couple of weeks in the competition. Unfortunately, in the last couple of performances she has displayed absolutely zero performance savvy, and on top of that she's now coming off a bit cocky. (If I hear her mention "my fans" one more time I'm going to scream!) I think it may be time to put this quirky songbird down.
Final Prediction
Bottom 3:
Allison Iraheta
Megan Joy
Anoop Desai
Bottom 2
Megan Joy
Anoop Desai
Eliminated: Megan Joy
Agree? Disagree? Sound off in the comments section below!
23 Haziran 2012 Cumartesi
AMERICAN IDOL Top 9 Recap and Elimination Prediction
X-Factor's Danyl Johnson - Bisexual?
Below is a video of X-Factor contestant Danyl Johnson, who Simon Cowell said gave the best first audition he's ever seen. I mean...it's good, sure, and the guy certainly has stage presence, but methinks Cowell overstates just a bit.
I'm more interested in a quote he gave to London's The Mirror, in which he declares he dates both women and men, and says, "I don’t like to conform or be put into one box or another and if I’m honest all the judges are good-looking. If I like someone’s personality it doesn’t really matter what they look like or what sex they are."
Looks like Adam Lambert is not the only singing contestant who likes the fellas!
Gay, straight, bisexual -- do you love this guy? And is he the next Susan Boyle? Let me know your thoughts.
SYTYCD's Will Wingfield Joins Broadway's "In The Heights"
So You Think You Can Dance is taking over the world!
First Lacey Schwimmer, Dmitry Chaplin and Chelsie Hightower infiltrated Dancing with the Stars, Travis Wall returned triumphantly as a choreographer on the show, Kherington Payne got cast in the remake of Fame and Neil Haskell showed up Off-Broadway in Altar Boyz and on Broadway in 9 to 5. Now Season 4's Will Wingfield will be the new "Graffiti Pete" in In the Heights!
I saw Will, who was egregriously kicked off in the Top 8 of SYTYCD two seasons ago, this summer at City Center Encore's The Wiz, where he played the head monkey. Though he didn't have much to do, he danced fabulously, and certainly had more energy than star Ashanti. I mean...
Also coming to the Great White Way this fall is Season 3 runner-up Danny Tidwell, who will be a featured dancer in Memphis. Love!
Now we just gotta find a place for Katee Sheean and Janette Manrara!
Idol Thoughts Interviews So You Think You Can Dance's Nigel Lythgoe
I just got off the phone with Nigel Lythgoe, and here's a few nuggets of information he shared about Season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance:
-Because of scheduling issues, the season finale episode will feature the Top 6, instead of the usual Top 4. This was to avoid starting with a "Top 18". By my estimations, this would put the finale on December 16, 2009.
-Adam Shankman joining the show does not mean the end of guest judges -- in fact, Jennifer Lopez, a big fan of the show, has expressed interest in joining the panel, and Nigel still hopes to get Paula Abdul from time to time.
-If the show is not successful in the fall Nigel expects it will return to the summer -- he can't imagine Fox would throw the baby out with the bathwater.
-Nigel thinks this past season was booooooooooooring, and though the dancers were technically adept, he thought they were seriously lacking in personality.
-He thinks Danny Tidwell is the best dancer the show has had, and thinks Travis Wall was a better dancer than Benji Schwimmer, and, in this past season, Brandon was a better dancer than Jeanine.
Episode 2 of the new season of SYTYCD airs tonight!
Listen to a Clip of American Idol champ Kris Allen's New Single "Live Like We're Dying"
I'm a big Kris Allen fan. Big. And I couldn't be more excited that the 23-second clip below of his rumored new single "Live Like We're Dying" sounds AWESOME. Like, One Republic meets Jason Mraz AWESOME. It's a cover of a song by a band called The Scripts, but since no one's ever heard of them, or the song, who the heck cares? The song is (have I mentioned?) AWESOME!
Listen below and let me know what you think.
21 Haziran 2012 Perşembe
House Oversight Committee votes to recommend holding Holder in contempt.
“Our purpose has never been to hold the attorney general in contempt,” Mr. Issa said. “Our purpose has always been to get the information the committee needs to complete its work — that it is not only entitled to, but obligated to do.”...ADDED: So what happens if he is voted in contempt?
“I treat assertions of executive privilege very seriously, and I believe they should be used only sparingly,” said Representative Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, the panel's ranking Democrat. “In this case, it seems clear that the administration was forced into this position by the committee’s unreasonable insistence on pressing forward with contempt despite the attorney general’s good faith offer.”
Does a mortuary science student have free speech right to write Facebook posts about a cadaver?
The [mortuary science] program's rules specifically require students to be "respectful and discreet" in dealing with cadavers, and not to blog about their cadavers. The university said that Tatro violated these rules with four Facebook status updates in which she talked about her cadaver, whom she named "Bernie."The student was actually pretty respectful toward the corpse:
Realized with great sadness that my best friend, Bernie, will no longer be with me as of Friday next week. I wish to accompany him to the retort. Now where will I go or who will I hang with when I need to gather my sanity? Bye, bye Bernie. Lock of hair in my pocket.If you were "Bernie"'s widow, would that make you mad that you'd allowed the program to use his body for educational purposes? Do you think the university's interests are enough to justify this repression of speech?
Note that the state supreme court's decision was much more limited — relating only to professional programs with standards of conduct — than what the intermediate appellate court had said, which would have permitted the university to "punish off-campus speech that 'materially and substantially disrupted the work and discipline of the university.'"